


stop the world; i wanna get off with you

by KilltheRhythm



Series: Linchpin magazine [2]
Category: Just Music, Khiphop, Kpop - Fandom, korean hiphop, korean music rpf
Genre: Adventure, Best Friends to Lovers, Fluff, M/M, Slice of Life, fun fact: I have no idea what I'm doing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-07-28
Updated: 2015-07-28
Packaged: 2018-04-11 16:16:46
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,131
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4442588
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KilltheRhythm/pseuds/KilltheRhythm
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I wrote this over the course of months in my spare time. This is basically one really long ramble and I can't write romance. Why do I try.<br/>I posted this on asianfanfics so it isn't plagiarized okay.</p></blockquote>





	stop the world; i wanna get off with you

"C'mon, you've gotta get out more." Daewoong says, leaning precariously over Changjoong's laptop, mere inches away from his best friend's face. Before Changjoong can retort, Daewoong has pressed the power off button and is cackling loudly. Changjoong sighs in defeat and closes the laptop, sliding deeper into his chair. Why he put up with his child of a friend was beyond him. He would be gray by twenty-five if Daewoong kept this up. 

"It's," Changjoong has paused to check his watch. "it's 4:30 AM, what do you even want me to do? Nothing is open. Look, not even the corner store is open right now!" Sure enough, the corner store across the street has its lights turned off, and the usual flow of cars on the street is nowhere to be seen. 

"We're in college, and it's almost as if you want to spend it being normal. It's 4:30 AM in summer, it's the perfect time for lots of things." Daewoong says. 

At the moment the nineteen year-old is precariously perched on the windowsill of Changjoong's "office". The office was more like a glorified closet, which fit Changjoong's part time job in a somewhat known fashion magazine. Changjoong doesn't remember ever giving Daewoong the keys to get in, but Daewoong has his ways, and while they are clearly unorthodox, they are also highly effective. 

"I think almost all of Seoul is asleep right now. This is the time to go to bed, not to go on one of your harebrained adventures." Changjoong responds, weakly reaching for his laptop. 

"God, you're boring. This is a great hour for a lot of things... uh, like... swimming!" Daewoong says, wiggling the lock on Changjoong's window undone. 

"Are you kidding me?"

Daewoong grins as he shoves the window open. "Would I ever steer you wrong?" Changjoong would say yes but that question was obviously rhetorical. "C'mon, live a little!" And with that Daewoong has hopped out of the window. 

Changjoong rushes to the window in worry, peering down and expecting to see his friend sprawled out on the pavement breathing his last breaths, suffering from broken bones and splattered blood. It's a surprise to see Daewoong smiling up from a fire escape a few floors below, saying something about seeing him at the bottom. Changjoong simply shakes his head, knowing completely that his friend would do something as dumb as that for a laugh. 

Changjoong meets Daewoong at the opening to the building as fast as possible, and is met with the sight of Daewoong rummaging through his trusty backpack. Daewoong's backpack generally defied the laws of physics, and seemed capable of producing whatever was needed at the time, no matter the size, therefore it was no surprise that Daewoong had it with him at all times. Changjoong decides to just watch Daewoong dig through the backpack, producing a knockoff 1llionaire snapback, a few energy bars and a long piece of rope before finding what was needed. 

"Told you I had them." Daewoong says, as if he had told Changjoong he had a few pairs of board shorts before waving them in his friend's face. Changjoong stares blankly, looking at the tags on the suits. While the most likely option was that Daewoong stole them, he'd like to believe his friend was a law abiding citizen.

Changjoong realizes they are at that point in their friendship where he doesn't even question the bullshit Daewoong comes up with on a daily basis. So he doesn't bother to ask Daewoong anything as they walk to some pool at 5:00 AM. He stays quiet as he watches Daewoong nimbly climb up the tall fence that separates them from the pool with more grace than he's ever seen his friend exhibit. He only nods and smiles when Daewoong opens up the gate from inside, revealing a pool full of still water clean enough to reflect the cloudless night sky. 

In fact, the next time Changjoong talks is when he's stepping into the pool. _Something seems off,_ Changjoong thinks to himself, up to his shins in water. Changjoong continues to wade in, feeling like something was very off; he never went into pools. Changjoong, now up to his waist in water, then realizes his mistake: he did not know how to swim. After relaying this information to his friend, he watches on with shame as Daewoong starts to laugh uncontrollably, eyes shut closed and mouth wide open as he laughs in the water. 

"Alright then. I guess I'll have to teach you." Daewoong says with a grin on his lips as Changjoong stands sulking waist deep in the water. He starts with the basics, and by the time dawn is there, the rising sun turning the pool a light, warm color, Changjoong is able to paddle about the water, albeit without the grace of his friend. Daewoong could dive down to the bottom of the pool and dart from side to side with a remarkable speed, while Changjoong could only go forward at slow pace. 

They end up leaving as soon as the sun is clearly in the sky, a time Changjoong would have known if he had his watch on him. Instead of finishing up his work at the office he is walking to the corner store, smelling like chlorine and the early morning, beginning-June sun. But the kimbap triangle tastes good, and the sunlight hitting the back of his neck feels even better, so he just goes along with it all. He hasn't a clue where he'd be going, only following Daewoong, but he doubted that his friend had any idea of what they would do either. 

\----

Changjoong's day has been great so far, and he is determined to not let it nosedive. He finished his designs on time, finished editing his article and is now taking a calm little knitting break with a mug of tea. His world is at peace as he watches himself knit in the mirror, noticing that his hair has grown out quite a bit since when he first shaved it all off. However, this tranquility was not going to last, and sure enough, a loud crash resounds throughout his office as his door slams open to reveal no one other than Kim Daewoong himself. 

Daewoong looks a little more than frazzled, hair standing on end and eyes wide as he slowly shuts the door to the office shut. He's wearing a nice white shirt, which was already odd for Daewoong, but to make matters even odder, the once nicely ironed white button down was messed up and dirtied, with a long gash up the right side, revealing a white undershirt that had the same gash through it as well. Clearly something had happened. 

"Can you help me?" Daewoong says as he flops onto Changjoong's couch, shoes already off. Though posed as a question, Daewoong already knew the answer. 

Changjoong gives a trademark discerning look. "Why should I?" However, he already knows he will help his friend as well, whether he wants to or not. 

"Because I'll owe you one and you'd love to hear the story behind it?" Daewoong says, watching as Changjoong begins to reach for his trusty sewing kit. 

"Well hold still then, I'm not going to be able to sew that shirt up with you wiggling all over the place." Changjoong smiles, determined to fix the garment of clothing without making Daewoong take it off.

Daewoong watches, near transfixed, as his friend begins to sew up the long rip in the side of his shirt. He is woken from his wandering thoughts when Changjoong purposefully pokes him with the needle, and only then does Daewoong remembers he has a story to tell. He begins to relay the events, starting with how he and his friends were on break from work, and that they decided to explore the land near the restaurant where they were employed. Turns out, the land was privately owned and they ended up running for dear life from a less than happy landowner, who was most certainly armed. Daewoong ripped his shirt helping his friend climb a particularly tall barbed-wire laced fence. Changjoong raises a brow, but says no more, since the whole story seemed like the trouble his friend constantly gets himself into. However, the stories of Daewoong's antics, like Daewoong himself, never ceased to amuse Changjoong, who was seemingly endlessly interested in the odd not-man-yet-not-child he had befriended. 

"You owe me one. And you gotta give me coupons to your restaurant, since I fixed your uniform." He says with a chuckle after he finishes sewing up the gash in the shirt

"No fair, that's more than I offered." Daewoong pouts, looking dejected. 

Changjoong grins one of the shit-eating grins Daewoong is oh-so famous for. "I could re-rip your shirt, you know. You're gonna do what I want." 

So it's no surprise to Daewoong when he sees his best friend enter the restaurant the next day, accompanied by two other friends. He recognizes them, Siyoung and Dongyul, but knows that they are part of a different friend circle and wouldn't dream of associating with them. Yet he still points them out to his fellow waiters and friends, San and Hyunseok, who seem to be in awe. 

A surprising amount of luck lands Daewoong in charge of Changjoong's table, and instead his friends are stuck with two tables full of whiney kids who couldn't appreciate the Italian-Korean fusion restaurant they were eating in. Daewoong thanks whatever powers there may be that he wasn't stuck with the kids. The last time he was stuck with a bunch of kids, he wanted to beat the crap out of them, though he knew pummeling small children wasn't exactly a great idea, and he would like to not repeat that dreaded day. 

"What can I do for you today?" Daewoong says as he takes orders for drinks from Changjoong's table. He keeps a sly grin on his face, looking like a dictionary definition for confidence as surveys the table of three. Daewoong was determined to not come off as some loser, and so far it was clearly working. His nice shirt, now fixed, washed and ironed, now fit perfectly with his suave demeanor, impressing anyone who seemed to come near him. 

And today, today the world seems to be on his side. Everything seems to go so smoothly that it's unimaginable, and as Daewoong is getting ready to close up, Changjoong and friends approach him. Dongyul asks Changjoong something, and then nods as they are finally in speaking distance from Daewoong. 

"Changjoong says you wouldn't mind helping model for a show." Siyoung starts out, pushing up his glasses. 

"And where did you get this information?" Daewoong asks, glaring at Changjoong, his brain and mouth already on autopilot. Of course his friend would say that, Changjoong had said he owed him one. Daewoong had thought he had set it even by letting them eat without a reservation, but obviously Changjoong thought differently, and he held the reigns here. The conversation dawdled on, Daewoong just nodding, only half-listening, not thinking much but agreeing with what they said. He was a good actor, he feigned interest and attention, the conversation seemed to have been intriguing for the designers. However, Daewoong was just happy to be rid of the unfamiliar faces, and plopped into a chair with a sigh of relief as his friends closed up the restaurant. 

Daewoong doses off, the long days with lack of sleep combined with the inescapable summer heat that infected the most air conditioned of places finally taking it's toll on him. He's only woken up when the restaurant is closed, though the waiters usually stuck around to eat any food that didn't make it to the customers, playing cards into the late night. 

"Daewoong," Hyunseok starts excitedly, sliding his friend a plate of kimchi spaghetti. "how did you know those people? You just scored a big deal with them, tell me your secrets!"

Daewoong raises an eyebrow questioningly, wondering what the shorter waiter was babbling on about. "Deal? You know I wasn't paying attention to what they were saying! What did I get myself into?"

Hyunseok rolls his eyes, baby face painted with a look of exasperation at his friend. "Modeling. You agreed to model something for them." Hyunseok twirls his fork through his spaghetti absentmindedly as he watches the other waiter's facial expression as he mulls over what he's agreed to. 

Finally Daewoong seems to have come to a conclusion. "I'm an idiot." His mind races, thinking about how he'd end up dressed up in some sparkly leotard covered in fringe, tinsel and sequins. No one, from his college classmates to the people that listened to his occasional performances in pubs, would ever take him seriously ever again. 

_I'm done for, doomed!_ Daewoong thinks to himself. It wasn't like he could just go back on his word, that wasn't just something he could do. If he couldn't hold up to his word then what was he? Daewoong couldn't pride himself on money or a clean track record, but he had his integrity, and that was something he had to uphold. 

"The more important question," San says, having already inhaled his spaghetti. "is who that guy with the goatee was." San grinned lazily, hand running through his hair like some lovestruck schoolgirl. The other two waiters stifle back giggles, noting their friend's interesting behavior. 

"Dude, that was Shin Dongyul, Vasco, you listen to his music all the time, how didn't you recognize him?" Hyeonsuk questions, staring at the other waiter. San begins to explain how he was in it for the music, not the looks, so he never bothered finding out what the rapper looked like, and couldn't afford going to a live show. Hyunseok tries to point out that he should have seen Vasco's face on the cover of his albums, but San simply makes a "pshh" sound and says he's only pirated them. 

The three end up departing, with Daewoong and Hyunseok heading east to where their apartments were, while San headed south for reasons undisclosed to the other two. Once San is out of listening distance, Hyunseok lets out a giant laugh. "Did you see how he was looking at Vasco?"

"Not really, was it good?"

"Was it good? He's practically head over heels, hearts for eyes, the whole nine yards. Love at first sight, if you ask me."

Daewoong's brow furrows, eyes narrowing in thought. "Thought he was into chicks." He ends up shrugging, letting the thought slip away. None of his business, he had other things to worry about, such as getting himself out of whatever Changjoong had made him agree into. And while he hoped he could talk his fashionable friend, a sinking feeling was forming in his stomach, telling him he wouldn't be that lucky. 

\----

Changjoong sighed contentedly, grinning at his email's inbox with delight. He had managed to send in his article on summer fashion two days _early_ and had never felt more responsible or adult. Said peaceful feelings were shattered and dashed as Daewoong tumbled through his window, which was conveniently left open for the designer to enjoy the breeze. After the initial jolt of surprise, Changjoong asked his friend why he couldn't ever enter _normally_ , to which Daewoong replied smugly that he was "changing things up" and "destroying the monotony". Daewoong was full of phrases like this, and whether they were said ironically or with the utmost seriousness was a mystery to all involved. The phrases have Changjoong rolling his eyes, smiling as his friend slinked over to his desk. 

The designer then watched Daewoong pick up one of his mugs, pour the contents of a water bottle into it and pop it into the microwave. The waiter waited for the water to boil before dropping in a teabag and unceremoniously tossing himself into the loveseat that occupied a good quarter of the perimeter of the room. Not a single drop of water spilt from the mug as he did this, Daewoong's hands sturdy and still. Changjoong raised an eyebrow at the entire situation, more than a little amused. 

"That was amazingly lazy. You must hate effort." 

"I abhor it." Daewoong said, quite happy with his choice of words, believing it made him sound professional. Changjoong rolled his eyes at his friend's statement, knowing that his friend was incredibly efficient at work when he put his mind to it.

The two sit in silence for a while, the only sounds being that of the clock and Daewoong sipping his tea. Eventually the designer feels the need to break the quietness, but searched for the words before opening his mouth. "Actually I'm glad you came today, I wanted to show you what you were going to wear for the show." He started out with a grin, pleased at his friend's well-timed appearance. However, much to his surprise, Daewoong made a face upon hearing those words. 

"About that, I really think you shouldn't use me, I know someone far better..." Daewoong started off, beginning to feel bad about the situation. He didn't want to do this, but he owed his friend. _Trapped between a rock and a hard place,_ Daewoong thinks

"Nonsense. You've got a good body type for it, thin and lanky. And not a bad face either. Really, I should have made you model earlier." Changjoong said, smiling as he rolled his chair closer to his friend. Daewoong's face lit up, and the designer guessed that the only compliments his friend got about his appearance were from old ladies at the restaurant. 

"No, I'm not that good looking, just get someone better. San would be a good choi--" Daewoong was shut up by Changjoong shoving a hand over his mouth, slamming his head into the wall with a loud bang. Daewoong glared, rubbing the back of his head, while his friend flashed him an unapologetic smile before rummaging through a nearby drawer, mumbling vaguely of a tape measure. The teenager tried to protest again, speaking of how he wasn't the right type, or how he didn't want to wear runway clothes because it looked gay, something that the designer rolled his eyes and sighed at, and how there were more deserving people. All complaints were ignored as the designer found the tape measure that he was looking for.

Taking the right measurements was a loathsome task, with Daewoong literally and metaphorically dragging his feet every step of the way. Eventually the two reached a point where Daewoong realized there was no point in fighting it and became much more compliant, much to Changjoong's contentment. However, this new-found calmness did not change the fact that Daewoong was still twitching every two seconds, or that he hummed off-tune when he thought Changjoong wasn't paying attention. Changjoong, however, stays silent and still, continuing to measure and gaze at Daewoong. It's a tedious job, one that he is easily distracted from by his friend's frequent movements, but he stays focused on the task. 

"Y'know," Daewoong starts off as Changjoong measures his waist. "you oughta hang out with me and my frien-"

"My friends and _I_."

"Whatever. You should hang out with us sometime. We're going camping this weekend, you're free to go too." Daewoong says with a small smile, one of those looks that Changjoong really can't say no to, even though he really should. And as he puts away his tape measure, Changjoong thinks that eventually, one of those looks is going to get him into a lot of trouble.

The whole eventually part of that trouble happens to come far sooner than expected for Changjoong. He doesn't realize what's going to happen as they load up the van Daewoong's friends have managed to drive up by his apartment. He does think to himself that it's odd that they know where his apartment is, as Daewoong never frequents there, but figures that he told his friend that some time. The rising sense of trouble only seems to bubble up from the depths of his stomach as they begin to unload the van in the woods. He swats away the worries, pegging it as anxiety about the camping trip and the people he really hasn't met before. 

The next pangs of worry kick in as he and Daewoong set up a tent, but he also pushes those aside, blaming his lack of knowledge on the subject of tent creation. However, the feeling of unease seems to stay, and he just has a feeling that _something_ wrong is going to happen. He doesn't know what, when or if it'll even happen, but the feeling of offness becomes unshakable. Daewoong seems to notice his worry, and pulls him aside, telling Changjoong not to worry, that his friends were nice people, and the park they were camping in was safe. Their brief chat ends in Changjoong's heartbeat returning to normal, bringing clarity to his thoughts. This newfound peace seems to paint everything in a new light, and he finds himself enjoying his dinner, and even talking to Daewoong's friends. It's something that surprises him, as he was never the one to talk to people he didn't know, always leaning more to the shy side. Maybe it's the food, Daewoong brought vegetarian patties specially for him, or maybe it's the fresh air and the bottle of beer he's had, but his outlook had done a 180, and the evening seemed perfect. 

Changjoong tries his hardest to stay in the conversation, but his attention occasionally lapses, leaving blanks in the conversation. He snaps out of it when he hears one of Daewoong's friends talk. "Hey kid, you alright?" She asks, flicking her curtains of long black hair to the side. Changjoong stares at her for a good second, the girl in question is definitely a standout. From her name to her clothes, she's odd and Changjoong wouldn't dream of associating with someone who looked as emo as Choi Sam. 

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. Just zoned out for a bit." 

San leans back in his chair, whistling to himself. "Of course he's zoning out, he's bored as shit. We haven't even done anything interesting."

"And something interesting would be?" Daewoong asks, popping his knuckles in anticipation. The cracks of his knuckles along with the pop and hiss of the fire the campers surrounded were the only sounds audible as they all thought. 

"We could smoke." Hyunsuk says after a long bout of thinking. Daewoong's friends nod in thought, seeming to like that idea. 

"Didn't bring anything though." Daewoong says with a sigh, and the worry immediately begins to resurface in Changjoong; he didn't smoke. The thoughts begin to swirl in his head like the campfire smoke twirling and intertwining in the night sky like vines. He worries that Daewoong's friends won't like him or that they'll exclude him because he doesn't smoke. In the back of his mine he knows that those words sound ridiculous, but the worry persists. 

"And you think I wouldn't bring something? C'mon man, I thought you guys knew me." San grins, reaching behind the log that he was sitting on. Changjoong can hear the crinkling of a bag and his heart races faster, trying to blink away the worry, thinking to himself that it really doesn't matter. 

"Is that enough for all of us?" Sam asks, quirking up her pierced eyebrow. San laughs again and gives her another knowing look. "Okay San, I'll take that as a yes." Sam chuckles. 

Changjoong feels like he should speak up, but the social anxiety comes back. Eventually he manages to stammer out what wants to say, but no one can understand him. They ask him to speak up, all politely smiling. Changjoong stutters out the words again, but still they are unintelligible. After trial and error he manages to get out the words at an acceptable volume. "I haven't smoked before."

"There's a first time for everything." Hyunsuk grins, the fire illuminating his features. He's always looked younger than his age, having a baby face, but the fire's light played up on the mischievous look on his face. He doesn't look sinister, and as he night goes on, and Changjoong becomes more aquatinted with Daewoong's friends, the kinder they seem. 

"So you never smoked before in general? Or you just haven't smoked weed?" Sam asks, looking at the designer inquisitively. Changjoong shakes his head. 

"Never."

San whoops, sounding almost like a bird "A newbie! Finally I can pass on my amazing skills and master knowledge."

"Master knowledge." Daewoong snorts. "Kyung taught you all you know." Changjoong perks up at the name, knowing of the aforementioned person. Kyung was a music theory major at their college, and known for being the most persuasive guy on campus. He could sell anyone anything. 

"Well Kyung does know a lot about weed. He _does_ sell it after all." Hyunsuk adds, watching as Sam and San begin to roll joints. From the looks of it, Changjoong infers, they've had a lot of experience. 

"Isn't this the stuff Kyung sold you?" Sam asks, looking up from her hands. 

"Nah, he's been out of town. This is the stuff that guy Basick sells. A little lower quality but it'll do." San says in response. 

From that point the rest of the night almost seemed to be a blur. Hyunsuk first tries to teach him to smoke, but Changjoong didn't have a clue of what to do. After failed try and try, eventually Daewoong committed himself to the task of teaching Changjoong, producing better results. He doesn't let Changjoong smoke much, though, but Changjoong really didn't mind. The small amount he did manage to put into his lungs over the course of the night has him feeling high, and he doesn't find the experience to be that bad. He can physically feel himself start to relax and open up to the group, and finds himself trading jokes about the professors at their college. It's been forever since he's hung out with a group of people his own age, and the experience seems to be amazingly cathartic. 

As the night draws on, Changjoong leans against Daewoong's side, deciding that his friend's hoodie was comfortable and warm enough to rest against, though Daewoong seemed to be all skin and bones underneath. The night sky seemed to be a thousand times more interesting while high, all of the constellations vibrant and mesmerizing under the night sky. Daewoong and Sam seem to know where every constellation is, pointing them all out to Changjoong, who has decided that the forest sky beats the city sky any day of the week. 

Changjoong doesn't remember how he got to his tent that night, his last memories being him drifting off to sleep in Daewoong's lap after consuming what seemed to be a million s'mores. It had turned out that San had a special talent for cooking the perfect marshmallow, henceforth making the perfect s'more. He wakes up hungry, his stomach rumbling and the taste of s'mores lingering in the back of his mind. They all end up eating some instant oatmeal that Changjoong had expected to taste like shit, but seemed to be the best thing he had ever eaten. 

"Well, boys, are you ready to hike that?" Sam asks, pointing one of her black nail polish adorned fingers towards a sizable mountain in the distance. Her question is met by words of excitement from all four of the other campers. The hike up said mountain was an all-day one, but the view at the top was gorgeous enough to be worth how exhausted they felt. From their spot on the mountain, they could see the extensive forests give way into grassland, fading into rice farms, and then city. The summer sun is high in the sky, and Changjoong knows by the time they'll all get home they'll be tan, save for Sam, who had slathered herself in sunscreen, proclaiming "punk chicks don't get tans". But as the sun set that night, casting long shadows through the campground, Changjoong couldn't help but smile. The world seemed perfect. 

\----

"Stop struggling, it's too late for you to turn back now." Changjoong hisses, tossing the dress shirt at Daewoong. Daewoong frowns deeply, but picks up the shirt all the same. Changjoong crows victoriously, having "won" the "fight". His friend angrily mumbles something to himself, buttoning the shirt up as slowly as possible to spite him. There is no eye contact, no cheeky jokes or even words shared. It's all horribly awkward, and Changjoong can his friend isn't happy. 

"Hey, look, it's not too bad. You just have to show up at the place, get some photos taken and enjoy whatever food is there. There's no runway, no nothing." the designer smiles, placing a hand on Daewoong's shoulder. His friend exhales slowly, nodding. 

"Alright. You'll be there, though, right?" Daewoong says, placing his hands on his friend's shoulders so their arms touched. Changjoong nodded, lowering his arms. 

"San's going to be there too. I think Siyoung needed a quick replacement for his model, and San's around the same size, same build, so I recommended him." 

Daewoong laughs, picturing San walking around, looking for the one and only Vasco, in a fancy suit. "Are you kidding me? He's just going to try to hit on Vasco." Changjoong chuckles along with him, but Daewoong's predictions seem to prove true when he sees his fellow waiter chatting with the rapper, both with beers. 

The whole idea of having a photoshoot and party to commemorate the magazine's twentieth birthday did not appeal to Daewoong. Usually he loved parties, the loud music, free food and drinks, and people to dance with were all enjoyable, but when he was supposed to look good in Changjoong's designed clothes and let some guy take photos of him, all of the fun seemed to melt away. He would much rather be almost anywhere but the party, and tried to avoid people who wanted to chat with him. Changjoong stayed nearby, but it was obvious that this party was all about making the right social connections to move up in the world for the designer. He then turned his attentions towards looking for San, but when he found his friend it was clear that San was trying to get a conversation with Vasco started, with Siyoung nowhere near to be found. 

It was at some point in the evening that Daewoong decided that maybe he could find a pretty girl to talk to. Thinking to himself that he should really make the best of his situation, he slipped away from Changjoong and began to walk around the party. The house that the party was in was huge, seeming to be a mansion. Daewoong wandered down a crowded hallway, and past what seemed to be a kitchen, looking for somewhere to go. He spotted a door leading to the backyard of the large estate, and to his delight, there were not many people outside. He began to walk through the garden, sitting down on a bench surrounded by rosebushes. Looking at the sky, he didn't notice the soft footsteps of a girl walking up and sitting right next to him. 

"Hey," she smiles, her teeth as white as pearls, and her eyes as shiny as the stars that were creeping up the sky. "you seem kinda lonely." She's vaguely pretty, the type of girl Daewoong figured he'd be interested in. 

"Sometimes it's nice to be alone. It's too weird in there anyways." Daewoong says, pointing a finger in the direction of the large house. The girl nods, looking at Daewoong with a surprising amount of interest. Girls never seemed to be interested in him; but that was fine with Daewoong, he wasn't too interested in them either. 

"I'm Soo-min, by the way. Ahn Soo-min, designer." She says, holding out a hand for a handshake. Daewoong shakes her hand, more out of a feeling of obligation than anything else. He introduces himself and she seems to laugh at every joke he cracked. They get along well enough, her asking questions and trading jokes, and Daewoong can feel himself warming up to her as she rests her head against his shoulder. He waited for a lurch in his heart, or something to tell him that he was at least a little attracted to the girl who seemed to love his company. 

"It's getting late, want to go in and grab a drink?" She offers, pulling Daewoong up off the bench by his hand. It's clear that she wasn't going to take no for an answer, and he sighed, letting her drag him inside toward where the table of refreshments was. 

The line for drinks was slow moving, and possibly the most boring five minutes Daewoong had spent in what seemed like forever. He found it rather ironic that the photo taking bit of the party was the most interesting part of the whole thing. Nonetheless, he tried his hardest to stay calm and polite, though the entire aura of the party was starting to get on his nerves. He kept up small talk with Soo-min, though any affection he had for her was lost when she went on and on about a drama he couldn't have cared less for. 

He was completely tuning out her babble about the same drama when he heard her gasp. "Oh my god, is that Vasco?" She gaped, staring at Shin Dongyul himself, talking to no one other than San. Upon closer inspection, it was obvious that one, San was drunk off his tits, and two, he was (unsuccessfully) trying to flirt with the rapper in front of him. Dongyul seemed to take every flirt as a joke, and seemed to be the having the time of his life with San, leading on the poor waiter. 

"You're adorable." San babbles, grinning up at Vasco. Again the older man laughs, slinging an arm around San. They continue to chat, and it becomes more and more obvious that San was not going to be able to find his way home from the party. 

"Aren't they cute?" Soo-min grins, looking up at Daewoong. 

"Uh, sure." Daewoong replied curtly, beginning to regret leading on the designer. 

"I think we'd be cuter together than them though." Soo-min smiles, looking far too predatory for Daewoong's liking. As she leaned in to kiss him, Daewoong put a hand to her forehead to keep her away. She opened her eyes, looking up at him. "The hell? I thought you were into me!" 

Daewoong's heartbeat raced faster. He didn't know what to say. "I'm gay." He blurted out, trying to find some response that would drive her away. It seemed to work, Soo-min leaving in a huff. Daewoong grabbed a glass of lemonade and went off in search of Changjoong, whom he had last seen walking towards the patio. 

Out of the corner of his eye he spotted Dongyul and San. San was leaning against the older man, Dongyul chatting to some elderly lady who began to walk away as Daewoong neared them. He knew that San would be far too drunk to give directions to his apartment, and Daewoong didn't know San's address either. "I assume you're taking him home with you?" he asked Dongyul. 

"I guess I am, I don't exactly know where he lives, now do I?" Dongyul chuckles good naturedly.

"You know he really likes you, right?" Daewoong says, deciding that he should diffuse the situation before San could mess things up for himself. 

"Yeah, I'm not dense. Now go hang out with your boyfriend or whatever. There's only so much night left." Dongyul says, shooing him away. Daewoong chuckles, walking away. The idea of dating his best friend seems foreign, but it doesn't seem as unappealing as Daewoong thought it'd be. He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts. He needed to find his ride home, not think about dating him. 

\----

"Daewoong!" Changjoong shrieks uncharacteristically. Daewoong pokes his head through the door of Changjoong's office with a quizzical look. He had heard Changjoong's yell all the way from the kitchen of the office, and he hadn't a clue why his friend was yelling. "You gotta see the magazine."

Daewoong rolls his eyes, but walks in, plate of food in hand, and sits next to his best friend on the small couch in the apartment. "Is this the one with all the photos and coverage of the party?" His words earn an enthusiastic nod from Changjoong, who seemed to be in high spirits ever since one of his designs had made it big in a fashion show. 

"Look here, it's you! And they're talking about how great my suit looks! Isn't this the best thing?" Changjoong grins excitedly, staring at his friend. Daewoong stares at the designer, unable to understand why his friend took so much enjoyment from fashion. His attention diverts to the magazine when Changjoong tossed it into his lap. He reads the article, full of stunning praise on how his friend's designs could place him as the best newcomer of the year. However, his eyes catch the last sentence of the article, and he manages to read it twice before processing what it said. _No Changjoong's stunning and simplistic blazer design was modeled by his boyfriend, an unknown young man._

"They think we're dating." Daewoong says, looking up at his friend with large eyes. The idea of dating Changjoong for some reason didn't seem horrible to him, and while he had only dated a handful of girls in his nineteen years, he would've been lying if had said he didn't find guys attractive. 

Changjoong shrugged. "Like I care. I'm pretty sure they know I like guys anyways." 

Daewoong opened his mouth to say something but closed it before the words could come out. He thought for a second about his friend, anything he could have said that would have hinted about his preference. "But you seemed really broken up when your girlfriend dumped you."

Changjoong shrugged yet again. "Wanted to see if I liked girls. I just liked her like a friend, I was more sad that she was switching schools." 

Daewoong looks at the article again, sighing deeply at the photos. "Well, I guess I can't blame them for saying that. We do kinda look like a couple."

Changjoong chuckles, his entire enthusiasm for the magazine almost seeming out of character for Daewoong, before he remembered that his friend had poured countless hours into working on it. "If you think we look couple-ish, you should see San and Vasco. People haven't shut up about them since the party." 

Daewoong watches as Changjoong flips the pages of the magazine, landing on a spread about his friend and the rapper. Sure enough there were photos of San and Dongyul chatting, acting couple-esque and even a blurry photo of them being far too close to be friends. The waiter couldn't help but crack up, San's enthusiasm for his crush seemed to have payed off. He hadn't gotten a word out of San about Vasco after the party, but with some more photos of his friend, his curiosity was piqued. 

Sure enough at work he asked San about what had happened after the party, but his friend had only turned red and said that if he were to say what happened he would be spilling "a big secret". This lead to Hyunsuk making innuendo based jokes whenever possible, and work being generally unpleasant for San. Wanting to get the attention off him, he quickly snapped about how they had said Daewoong was dating Changjoong, and sure enough the attention was diverted to the other waiter.

"Yeah right. Changjoong is out of your league." Hyunsuk grinned mischievously, his baby face looking impish once again. 

"Aren't you straight?" San asks Daewoong, who currently appeared to have an expression of mild discomfort at the entire situation. 

"Honestly, I think he's too desperate to care about the gender of the person. Right, Dae?" Hyunsuk cackled, rubbing his hands together. 

"When I said I was okay with dating guys, this is not how I thought it was going to go down." Daewoong mutters to himself. He couldn't wait for the work day to end. 

\----

Daewoong looks down from the deck of the beach house, the late July heat practically wearing the back of his neck. Changjoong sat beside him, freezing cold soda in his hand and an obscene amount of sunscreen lathered on his skin. Daewoong can smell the ocean on them, having enjoyed the beach as much as possible at the beach house Changjoong's family owned. He could feel the ocean breeze ruffle his overgrown bangs, which had lightened far more than expected from the near constant sun exposure. Changjoong's hair had grown out a good bit from the shaved look he had been sporting in February, but it wasn't the shaggy mop Daewoong had been sporting all summer long. 

The two sat in silence, drinking slow sips of soda and staring at the ocean. A million thoughts are running through Daewoong's head, half of which being that the ocean was his favorite place in the world, and the other half being that Changjoong was his favorite person in the world. His thoughts, no matter how erratic and eclectic they were, always drifted back to him, and the thought that maybe, he liked him more than a friend, or maybe, that Changjoong didn't think he was good enough. Daewoong felt the urge to ask, having never been good at keeping the inside thoughts inside. 

"Are you out of my league?" Daewoong blurted out, surprising even himself. 

Changjoong looked at him incredulously. "Why would I be out of your league?" 

Daewoong looked down at his feet on the deck. "'Cause I really like you and maybe I'm worried you don't feel the same." He only looked back up at the designer when he felt an arm on his shoulder. When he raised his head he saw Changjoong smiling as brightly as the summer sun. 

"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't follow you around on all your harebrained adventures if I didn't like you." Changjoong said, sliding up next to Daewoong on the beach house's deck. 

"But do you like me _like that_?" Daewoong pressed on. Changjoong laughed, putting his hand on Daewoong's leg and ruffling his hair. 

"Yeah, I do. And I'm guessing you do too." Changjoong smiled, inches away from Daewoong. Daewoong finally smiled back and closed the distance. Suddenly the world seemed a million times brighter, the white sands and pastel blue sky prettier than before. Daewoong couldn't help but smile, the world seeming to have stopped for him to enjoy the moment. Everything was beautiful.

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this over the course of months in my spare time. This is basically one really long ramble and I can't write romance. Why do I try.  
> I posted this on asianfanfics so it isn't plagiarized okay.


End file.
